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Immersive Van Gogh’s ‘secret’ location is the Tower Theater, promoter says

The digitized experience of the Dutch painter's artworks will be at the Upper Darby venue, its promoters said Thursday.

An image from "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" taken in Antwerp. The Dutch artist is the focus of myriad of interactive exhibits with simiilar names touring the U.S. and the world.
An image from "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" taken in Antwerp. The Dutch artist is the focus of myriad of interactive exhibits with simiilar names touring the U.S. and the world.Read moreExhibition Hub
    by Dan DeLuca
    Updated 
    Published 

The immersive Van Gogh show that frustrated local ticket buyers with canceled show dates, a delayed opening, and lack of communication with customers sent an email to some ticket holders Thursday revealing the “secret location” for the show.

The Tower Theater in Upper Darby will host “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” starting Aug. 26, the email said, a two-week delay The Inquirer had reported Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the promoter confirmed the location Thursday, and a spokesman for the Upper Darby venue said an official announcement that the show is coming to the Tower would be made Monday. The venue spokesman did not confirm the opening date.

Tickets have been sold since March for shows that were supposed to begin Aug. 12. Nationally, the Better Business Bureau said it had received more than 600 complaints in the past year regarding the ticket operations and communications of Fever, the company that is presenting the show.

Specifically in Philadelphia, the show elicited eight complaints through July, which had been addressed by Fever, said Luana Lewis, senior vice president for programs and services of the Better Business Bureau, Metro New York.

» READ MORE: Promoter of Philly’s Immersive Van Gogh exhibition acknowledges delay at its ‘secret location’

A spokesman for Fever told The Inquirer earlier this week that the show had been delayed “due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on global transportation logistics.”

The ticket holder email said 30,000 tickets had been sold for “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience,” scheduled to run through November.

The Upper Darby location was no consolation to some who had voiced frustration earlier.

Jean Brubaker bought more than $1,000 worth of group tickets in mid-June for Aug. 16, on the assumption the show would be somewhere in central Philadelphia. She received an email on Thursday afternoon with the delayed opening date and the Tower venue.

“As you were due to attend before August 26, we have offered you the possibility to change your tickets to any other available date and time. For your convenience, we have also added additional availability during the first weeks of the experience, so you can still be one of the first guests to enjoy it,” the email said.

But even if everyone in her group could make a new date, Brubaker said, “It’s not in a central location in Philadelphia. Had I known it was going to be in Upper Darby, I wouldn’t have done it because it would not have been convenient for a large group of women.” She has requested a refund.

» READ MORE: ‘The Last Waltz’ tour at the Tower: Celebrating The Band, with an all-star band

The Tower, where David Bowie recorded his album David Live in 1974, holds a cherished place in Philadelphia music history. The last show to be staged there was a tribute to The Band’s The Last Waltz in November 2019.

There have been persistent rumors that promoter Live Nation, which owns the building, has been planning to close or sell the Tower, but music fans breathed a sigh of relief when a concert date with The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show: Brit Floyd — Echoes 2020 was added to the venue’s schedule for Aug. 20. That meant the Tower still lived. And now it is poised to host the digital presentation of the Dutch master’s works.